Topock, an Arizona town on the far western edge of the state, doesn’t even have a stoplight. But its school district has scrambled to prepare for the new standards and get the Internet capacity and computers necessary for the 2015 debut of the accompanying test.

The House on Wednesday gave final approval to a bill that would retroactively lower interest rates on federal student loans, which doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent after Congress failed to act before July 1.

Eileen Klein’s vision for her tenure at the helm of the Arizona Board of Regents centers on pushing the board’s function beyond what it is best known for – setting university tuition rates – into making the organization a driver for improving the state’s economy.

On its face, the Arizona Board of Regents and the universities they govern have little, if anything, to do with the state’s Medicaid program or Gov. Jan Brewer’s plans to expand it in accordance with the federal Affordable Care Act.

At an early morning panel on higher education, two lawmakers sparred over the funding model for the state’s university system, arguing about whether university funding should be based on enrollment numbers or not.